A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is a device that includes one or more optical components. A PIC may be made using a variety of materials, for example, indium phosphide, gallium arsenide, lithium niobate, or silicon. A PIC performs functions on signals that are in optical wavelengths. A PIC can be used for performing communication through optical networks having optical fibers as a transmission medium.
Optical fiber is generally chosen for systems that require higher bandwidth or spanning longer distances than electrical cabling can accommodate. The benefits of optical fiber include exceptionally low loss, which allows for long distances between amplifiers and/or repeaters. Optical fiber does not have ground currents and other parasite signal and power issues common to long parallel electric conductor lines, because optical fiber uses light rather than electrical waves for transmission. Also, optical fiber has an inherently high data-carrying capacity. Thousands of electrical links would be required to replace a single high bandwidth fiber cable. Another benefit of optical fiber is that even when multiple optical fiber cables are placed alongside each other for long distances, fiber cables experience effectively no crosstalk, in contrast to some types of electrical transmission lines.